Image of April Newsletter header. Image of students holding umbrellas under rain clouds

April Newsletter 2023

Alyssa Edwards

March 21, 2023

APRIL 2023 NEWSLETTER

In this Article: 


    From the Principal

    April typically means "Spring", but with our weather, who knows. The saying "April Showers bring May flowers" sounds nice and refreshing. 

    Of course, living in Northern Illinois means crazy temperatures and weather, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately. Coats must be worn unless the temperature is 65 or above; this means your child must have something besides a sweatshirt that is worn in school all day. Also make sure all outwear is clearly marked with your child's name. 

    If you have the need to change your child's transportation home, please call before 2:15 if possible. This gives us enough time to get the message to your child. We know emergencies happen and sometimes this cannot be helped. 

    We will be practicing emergency bus evacuation on Wednesday, April 5. The bus drivers go over the procedures with two classes at a time. Then they practice evacuating the bus. We will also review our bus behavior expectations. Please help us by reviewing safety on the bus with your child too. 

    Some important dates for April include no school on April 6 for Teacher's Institute Day. There is no school on Friday, April 7. However, We DO HAVE school on Monday, April 10 - this is the make-up day for taking off for the Volleyball State Championship. We will be having an author visit on April 18. She will present for the students at both KES and GES and then do a family presentation that evening. The Kindergarten concert will be on Thursday, April 20. On Friday, April 28, the Kindergarten will be going to see a play at the Egyptian theater. It is a very busy month for KES. 

    If you have a child that will be turning 5 on or before September pt or know of a child that will be entering kindergarten next year - PLEASE - remind them to register on-line, then stop into Kingston Elementary School to drop off paper work and pick up the Kindergarten Readiness bag. We do not need money at this time, just the registration. Help us spread the word! 

    If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail shill@gkschools.org or call 815-784- 5246 ext. 8701. 

    - Happy spring!
    Stefanie Hill, principal


    Kindergarten

    • There is no school on Thursday, April 6th (Teacher Institute' Day) and Friday, April 7th. We DO have school on Monday, April 10th.

    • Please remember to continue to do the weekly Blending Homework sheet. Please make sure your child practices with an adult or older sibling three different times before returning the signed sheet to school. This activity is most beneficial when blending practice occurs on three different days. 

    • Please continue to pack TWO healthy snacks.

    • Remember to send a water bottle to school with your child.

    • With the weather getting warmer please remember to send your child with a jacket. Students need to wear a jacket when the temperature is 65 degrees and below


    • Our Kindergarten concert will be on Thursday, April 20th at 7pm in the GK High School Auditorium. Please have your child there by 6:40pm.


    First Grade

    First graders started the month of March by celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss. We read Dr. Seuss books, made Cat in the Hat hats to wear, and worked on some writing projects about Dr. Seuss stories. It was a fun week! 

    First graders welcomed the start of spring break with our 19th annual Beach Day on Friday, March 24th. The students were involved in many beach related activities. It was a great way to start our spring break! 

    We have been very busy with math. We have been working on identifying tens and ones and comparing numbers. The next topics coming up are adding and subtracting two digit numbers and telling time. Please continue to practice addition and subtraction facts at home. 

    Please be sure to read for at least 15 minutes each night. Repeated readings of familiar books help to build fluency. Ask your child questions about what he or she has read to help with comprehension. 

    We are looking forward to our upcoming Petting Zoo here at Kingston Elementary. The high school FFA students will be involved in this. Aside from the animals, there will be a flower planting station and a tractor display. 

    Towards the end of the month we have a field trip planned to Blumen Gardens in Sycamore. We will be involved in many activities in a variety of stations. Look for more information to follow. 

    The unpredictable spring weather requires your child to be prepared for cold, wet, windy, or sometimes warm weather. Please be sure your child is dressed for possible weather changes when he/she leaves for school. A jacket every day is a good idea. Tennis shoes are a safe choice for footwear for our playground surface. 


    Second Grade 

    We continue to work on phonics, language arts, and math. Remember to read daily with your child. Reading research shows:

    • Kids need to read a lot to become good readers.
    • Developing into a proficient reader requires lots of practice
    • By the end of second grade, children should be able to read with sustained interest for a minimum of 30 minutes.
    • Did you know that if your child reads 30 minutes a day outside of school, your child is consuming more than 2.3 million words per year?!

    During the muddy days of spring, it would be great if your child could have an extra pair of shoes to wear when one pair is muddy. You may want to send in a plastic bag for them to use so their backpacks and binders stay clean. If your child always seems to find that mud puddle, feel free to send in a change of clothes to keep in their locker (just in case). 

    As the end of the year approaches, please remember that your child still needs an adequate breakfast and a good night's sleep to do well in 2nd grade. We still have one quarter of school left with lots of learning! 

    Math facts, Math facts, Math facts ... Please continue to practice addition and subtraction facts daily! Students should be able to recall these facts as easily as saying their ABC's. 

    Please make sure your child is bringing a healthy snack each day.


    Physical Education

    Thank you for returning to the Physical Education portion of the newsletter! Spring is trying to come, but it is snow boots one day and spring jackets the next! I hope that the weather will soon decide what it really wants to do. The students are continuing to learn and work hard in the gym, regardless of what is happening outside! 

    The students worked extremely hard during the jump rope unit. Were able to have a day of fun with the Omni Kin ball, worked together on some teambuilding activities. They are currently finishing up with dribbling, passing, and shooting using their hands and feet. 

    The jump rope unit allowed students the ability to learn to jump using both the long and short jump ropes, hula-hoops, and the jump batons. There is definitely more to learning to jump rope than most think, but the students showed perseverance and did not give up! The improvement in spinning the long rope and their ability to jump the short rope was great to see! The unit ended with our Kids Heart Challenge. I can proudly say that the students at KES raised close to $6000 for the American Heart Association! The students need to remember that jumping rope is an inexpensive way to get your heart pumping!

    The students also took part in a unit on teambuilding. While in this unit, the students participated in a variety of activities where they had to work together to accomplish a common goal! Although this frustrated some students, it was nice to see them work together and get to the end of the activity! The students used balls, balloons, hula-hoops, and ended with team Tic Tac Toe! 

    The students are currently finishing skills that you would apply in basketball and soccer. The students have spent time on dribbling, passing, and shooting. The focus of the unit is to make sure the students are using the correct part of their feet and hands for the skills. We have been using a smaller, age appropriate ball for all the skills! The improvements with dribbling the soccer ball and getting the basketball up into the real hoop have been huge! 

    Reminders: 

    ► ALL students must have tennis shoes on to participate in class! Rubber soled tennis shoes are needed. No crocs, sandals, or boots are al lowed! 
    ► Keeping a pair of shoes in your child's locker/ cubby is a good idea for unforeseen circumstances!
    ► Shoes must stay on your child's foot during class. If the shoe comes off during activity, this is a safety issue for your child as well as the others in the class and after one warning, the student will be asked to sit out.



    Music Corner

    The Kids are working so hard this year! We have accomplished so much since August! First and Second grades have had amazing concerts and have been becoming masters of rhythm, singing and playing instruments. Kindergarten will make their concert debut on April 20th, 2023 so mark your calendars. Their lyric sheet and information note will be coming home near the end of March. 

    You may have noticed your child bringing home a small story/song book. These are from the curriculum we are piloting. Every so often, I will send home a coloring book so your child can read or sing their new song for you. It's a great way to be cross-curricular in Music and give your child extra reading practice. With this new curriculum, your child can log on from home to 

    www.musicplayonline.com 
    Just click on "student" using code: 
    d443464 


    Feel free to check it out and let me know your thoughts. On the left side of the webpage, there are many fun games, songs, simulated instruments as a search for songs we use in class. I would love to have some feedback from families regarding ease of use and accessibility 
    as well as if your child will actually use something of this nature at home. 

    Thank you, 
    Ms. D. Johnson 
    KES Music Educator 
    djohnson@gkschools.org 


    Building Readers

    pwhitten@gkschools.org 815-784-5246 ext.8110 
    Title I funding is supplied by the US Department of Education

    Reading Connections 

    Good Grammar: When your child says things like: "I goed" and "two mices" , she is demonstrating that she understands grammar rules and is applying them to the exceptions. One way to help your child learn the exceptions is to rephrase her words. If she says "I seed a rainbow." you can say, "Oh, you saw a rainbow? Where was the rainbow you saw?" You might point out exceptions by saying: "This is silly, but instead of saying 'two gooses' we say 'two geese'. Chances are, calling her attention to these examples will help them stick to her memory. The more she hears good grammar, the fewer mistakes she will make. 

    Vocabulary

    When your child come to an unfamiliar word in a book, help him determine the meaning using the picture or context clues. Always check the picture to help clarify the meaning of the story or information. Then check for clues in the words. The sentence might include the definition: Stir your oatmeal to mix it. The sentence might have a word that means the opposite (antonym): This puzzle is not easy, it is difficult. The sentence might have a synonym (word that means the same): Are owls really wise or do they just look smart? The sentence might give details that help: The dogs are slumbering on the couch. You made need to demonstrate these techniques to your child by thinking out loud. You might say "It says the county uses funds to buy computers for your school. Hmm, funds can buy something - that must mean money." 

    Reminders 

    Reading together just 15 minutes a day exposes your child to over 1,000,000 words a year! 

    Fun with Words

    Make your own flip book! Stack four sheets of paper and fold them together horizontally. Unfold and make three vertical cuts with scissors from the bottom to the fold 1 line. This makes four vertical flaps. Refold and write a word with four letters (good), one on each vertical strip. Now the fun begins! Ask your child to read the word, then lift any flap and write a letter that would make a new word. Take turns lifting flaps and creating new words. Examples: write "I" under the  second "o" to make gold, then write "f" under the "d" to make golf. Keep going until you can't make any more words.


    Nurses Notes

    April showers bring May flowers ... and also rain puddles and mud! Please send an extra change of clothing with your student :).

    Looking for an easy, fun, and delicious recipe to make with your student? Try this: 

    Energy Balls 

    • 3 cups quick oats
    • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
    • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
    • ½ cup honey

    Combine all ingredients, roll into golf ball size, refrigerate, enjoy! 

    Second Grade Parents 
    If you haven't already, please submit an Illinois Dental Examination Form (dated within the last year) by this May in order to comply with the state requirements. Thank you! 

    Did You Know? 
    Bicycle riding is one of the leading causes of sport-related head injuries in pediatrics, resulting in an estimated 26,000 emergency department visits annually. Research shows wearing a helmet can help reduce head injuries by 63%-88% (American Academy of Pediatrics) 

    Healthy Snack Ideas
    o Crackers and Cheese
    o Fresh Berries
    o Yogurt
    o Energy Balls (see recipe) 

    Mrs. Trompeter 
    KES School Nurse 
    X8507